Lions and Tigers and Bears

Patty's sister Kathleen is a volunteer at the Woodland Park Zoo and since Stewart absolutely loves animals and we both adore the zoo (we usually go a couple times a year) she offered to give us a private tour this weekend. We met up on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. just as the zoo opened prepared for a day of animal fun. 

Our first stop was was feeding the giraffes. The zoo has an award-winning African Savanna with three reticulated giraffes, and for just $5 you can sign up to hand feed them. I think giraffes are absolutely gorgeous and they're one of my favorite animals. This was my first time seeing them up so close!

We absolutely loved feeding the giraffes and it was a great start to our day. Kathleen took us through all of the exhibits and showed us secret areas and shared interesting facts that no one without intimate knowledge of the zoo would have been able to share. The weather was slightly overcast and not too warm, so most of the animals were out and about and we got to see a lot of action.

Simba and Nala?

This guy was so cute...

Stew feeding the birds.

Bears attacking a trash can. "A Bear Affair" was going on at the zoo
with educational programs, and in this exhibit a camp site had been set
up to show how bears will destroy anything left out at camp.

Stew looking at one of his favorite animals... river otters.
They are so playful!

I thought this sunbathing meerkat was so cute.

Just chillin'.

I think the penguins are super adorable.

This one loved Stew and was totally interacting with him!

Gorgeous jungle cats. I want to pet them... meow pretty kitty!
Stew had to remind me that they would probably eat me.

I always forget that it takes between five and six hours to see all the zoo exhibits. The Woodland Park Zoo is massive! But they have so many amazing animals and exhibits so it's such a fun way to spend a sunny day in Seattle. We'll probably be going back again soon.

Paintballers

Stew and some of the guys from his department have starting going paintballing occasionally when they're not on shift. He's been coming home exhausted with lots of funny stories and seems to be having an awesome time. They've been playing at KC Crusaders which is way down south in the middle of nowhere but seems to have some pretty cool courses. I think playing paintball must fulfill some primal need that males have to hunt and kill. I'm not sure if I would be into it but it does seem kind of fun, especially with a big group of people.  

I'm thinking the girls and I might have to go down and try it one of these days...

The paintball crew.

Have you played paintball before?

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

As much as possible lately I have been trying to shop and cook for the week on Sundays. I'm not a very good cook so we tend to eat the same things over and over again (i.e. chicken stir fry), but I'm really trying hard to mix it up.

I found this recipe on Jamie Eason's web site and decided to give it a try because it seemed like something that Stewart might like. Turns out we both loved it! 

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
Servings: Makes 12 muffins (2 per serving)
Calories: 80
Fats: 2 grams
Carbs: 4 grams
Protein: 11 grams

• 2 pounds lean ground turkey
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp ground mustard
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp garlic powder or 2 garlic minced garlic cloves
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 celery stalks (finely chopped)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin pan with extra virgin olive oil cooking spray. Mix all your ingredients together in one large bowl. Roll the mixture into balls and place in muffin pan (muffins should be about the size of a racquetball). Bake for 40 minutes.

Pretty simple ingredients that most people probably already have on hand.

I combined the dry ingredients first.

Then I chopped the veggies and added them with the egg whites...

... and finally added the ground turkey. Don't mix it too much.

I didn't quite have two pounds of turkey this time so mine are a little small.

Because they cook in the muffin tin all the moisture stays in!

The original recipe called for 2 tsp chipotle pepper spice which I didn't have so I substituted quite a bit less of the red cayenne pepper and they still had a nice little kick. I also prefer them with fresh garlic. You could also sub in different veggies if you wanted but I really like them with the celery and onion. Stew likes to eat them over a bed of spinach. I just pop them out of the muffin pan and put two each into zip lock bags. This week I did a double recipe and you can either put them all in the fridge for grab-and-go or freeze some for later. They are great at work, just microwave for a minute or so and you've got yourself a great little meal or snack!

Bon appétit!

Spring Fling

Another successful weekend for the Always!

We spent Saturday morning in Bothell visiting Stewart's grandma. She absolutely loves Rummikub and Stew has been playing it with her ever since he was a little kid. Liesbeth is 93 but she's still always up for a round or two when we visit. And this time I won!

After our visit we headed down south for the annual Spring Fling at a new location this year: The Hub in Tacoma. I can't believe it, but Stew and I have been Spring Flinging together since 2008! I really have no idea where the time went...

Dinner was delicious with chicken, fish, roasted veggies and Caesar salad, and we had the whole space to ourselves including a private bar. Stewart was in charge of the play list which he worked quite hard on, and it paid off because everyone danced all night and had a great time.

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott with Brett and Haley which was actually super nice and quite affordable. But a late night of drinking and dancing really takes a toll on us these days, so we spent most of Sunday just lounging around, although we did get some grocery shopping and cooking accomplished.

How was everyone else's weekend?